Chapman University's film school has set in motion a high-stakes experiment.

Can its alumni and students go toe-to-toe with Hollywood studios and cast, film and find an audience for its first full-length movie?

The film's budget is about $1.25 million – well above the $20,000 to $50,000 price tag for the short films students typically make.

If this project works, the school plans to make four to six full-length films annually through a new production arm, Chapman Filmed Entertainment.

Few universities have tried this. In the mid-2000s, a venture at the University of Texas spent millions for its students to make four full-length films.

Those "sold but didn't make money," explains Thomas Schatz, the professor behind the now-defunct production arm.

But Robert Bassett, dean of Chapman's Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, is coming at it with a different angle.

The venture, Chapman Filmed Entertainment, has raised millions from the university's "venture philanthropists," who expect a different pay-off than most.

They're banking on boosting the school's profile, Bassett explains. "They want to see something good for students that advances their careers."

He calls "Trigger," a thriller being shot in Griffith Park and elsewhere, his "proof of concept."

Proof that a crew of Chapman alumni and students – led by director Basel Owies (Chapman '10), who's shooting his first full-length film – can create a great picture.

And proof that the multi-millions poured into the school – like the $41 million for its massive studio and classroom building – might one day propel it into the film-making firmament now occupied by the American Film Institute and USC.

"I want Chapman to be the destination for the very best and brightest," Bassett says.

ON LOCATION

It's 7:30 a.m. and the cast and crew of "Trigger" clasp Starbucks cups against the chill in Griffith Park. Hidden in the trees, away from the eyes of joggers and cyclists, they're shooting a gruesome scene: A dog sniffs at a severed hand hidden the brush.

A newcomer in town, John, played by Chris Coy ("Little Birds," "Treme") chats up local waitress Kelli (Kristin Hager, Syfy's "Being Human") in his search for answers. GREG SMITH, CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT
Director Basel Owies (Chapman '10) has won several awards for his short films, but "Trigger" is the first full-length movie he has directed. COURTESY GREG SMITH, CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT
John (Chris Coy) confronts Eugene (Scott Glenn) demanding the truth about the deaths of 17 girls. GREG SMITH, CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT
Chapman University film school dean Robert Bassett, left, chats with actor Scott Glenn during a break in filming of Chapman Filmed Entertainment's feature-length movie "Trigger" on location in Griffith Park in Los Angeles on April 5. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER
Suspicions and accusations incite violence in the thriller "Trigger." GREG SMITH/CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT
Veteran actor Scott Glenn ("The Silence of the Lambs," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Training Day") brings a brooding power to the role of Eugene, a small town barber whose past may not be what it seems. GREG SMITH, CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT
Stephen Tobolowsky ("Groundhog Day," "Memento") plays a small town sheriff, here greeting his friend Eugene in the town diner. GREG SMITH, CHAPMAN ENTERTAINMENT

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